Mr. Withington said.
âYes, she even knew where Matt and Bill were. We picked them up this morning. Theyâre still itching from their poison ivy,â Rob chuckled.
âWill we ever get our camping equipment back?â Benny asked.
âIâm afraid it sank with Angelaâs canoe,â Rob said.
Mr. Withington cleared his throat. âIâm planning to replace the equipment you lost,â he said. âItâs the least I could do.â
âThank you, Mr. Withington.â Violet beamed.
âErnie will thank you, too,â Henry said, smiling.
âNow, why donât you all have something to eat, if youâre hungry,â Mr. Withington said.
âOh, Iâm always hungry,â Benny said. He helped himself to some chocolate cake and took a big bite. âYou know, the hot dogs on the trail were good,â he said. âBut this is much better!â
Everyone laughed.
About the Author
G ERTRUDE C HANDLER W ARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.
Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight carâthe situation the Alden children find themselves in.
When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.
While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warnerâs books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldensâ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possibleâsomething else that delights young readers.
Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books.
The Boxcar Children Mysteries
T HE B OXCAR C HILDREN
S URPRISE I SLAND
T HE Y ELLOW H OUSE M YSTERY
M YSTERY R ANCH
M IKEâS M YSTERY
B LUE B AY M YSTERY
T HE W OODSHED M YSTERY
T HE L IGHTHOUSE M YSTERY
M OUNTAIN T OP M YSTERY
S CHOOLHOUSE M YSTERY
C ABOOSE M YSTERY
H OUSEBOAT M YSTERY
S NOWBOUND M YSTERY
T REE H OUSE M YSTERY
B ICYCLE M YSTERY
M YSTERY IN THE S AND
M YSTERY B EHIND THE W ALL
B US S TATION M YSTERY
B ENNY U NCOVERS A M YSTERY
T HE H AUNTED C ABIN M YSTERY
T HE D ESERTED L IBRARY M YSTERY
T HE A NIMAL S HELTER M YSTERY
T HE O LD M OTEL M YSTERY
T HE M YSTERY OF THE H IDDEN P AINTING
T HE A MUSEMENT P ARK M YSTERY
T HE M YSTERY OF THE M IXED -U P Z OO
T HE C AMP -O UT M YSTERY
T HE M YSTERY G IRL
T HE M YSTERY C RUISE
T HE D ISAPPEARING F RIEND M YSTERY
T HE M YSTERY OF THE S INGING G HOST
M YSTERY IN THE S NOW
T HE P IZZA M YSTERY
T HE M YSTERY H ORSE
T HE M YSTERY AT THE D OG S HOW
T HE C ASTLE M YSTERY
T HE M YSTERY OF THE L OST V ILLAGE
T HE M YSTERY ON THE I CE
T HE M YSTERY OF THE P URPLE P OOL
T HE G HOST S HIP M YSTERY
T HE M YSTERY IN W ASHINGTON , DC
T HE C ANOE T RIP M YSTERY
T HE M YSTERY OF THE H IDDEN B EACH
T HE M YSTERY OF THE M ISSING C AT
T HE M YSTERY AT S NOWFLAKE I NN
T HE M YSTERY ON S TAGE
T HE D INOSAUR M YSTERY
T HE M YSTERY OF THE S TOLEN M USIC
T HE M YSTERY AT THE B ALL P ARK
T HE C HOCOLATE S UNDAE M YSTERY
T HE M YSTERY OF THE H OT A IR B ALLOON
T HE M YSTERY B OOKSTORE
T HE P ILGRIM V ILLAGE M YSTERY
T HE M YSTERY OF THE S TOLEN B OXCAR
T HE M YSTERY IN THE C AVE
T HE M YSTERY ON THE T